THIS WEEK: The No. 8 Stanford women’s volleyball team (7-3, 1-1 Pac-12) hits the road to take on No. 14 Arizona (11-3, 1-1 Pac-12) on Wednesday, Sept. 30 and No. 6 Arizona State (13-0, 2-0 Pac-12) on Friday, Oct. 2.
CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stats for the matches can be found on the women’s volleyball schedule page on GoStanford.com. Wednesday’s match will air on all seven Pac-12 Networks channels, while Friday’s match will be shown on the national channel as well as Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Arizona.
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SCOUTING ARIZONA: Arizona enters the week 11-3 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-12, falling at then-No. 7 Arizona State before sweeping then-No. 18 Oregon during the opening weekend of conference play. The Wildcats lead the Pac-12 in kills (14.67), assists (13.59) and digs (16.67) per set. Junior setter Penina Snuka controls the offense with a conference-best 11.41 assists per set. Junior outside hitter Kalei Mau is third in kills (4.53) and fourth in points (4.76), while senior middle blocker Halli Amaro is ninth in hitting percentage (.360) on the season.
THE SERIES WITH THE WILDCATS: Stanford holds a 63-6 all-time lead in the series against Arizona. The Cardinal, which has won 17 straight against the Wildcats, won in four sets in Tucson last season. Stanford’s most recent loss versus Arizona came on Nov. 11, 2005 in five sets at Maples Pavilion.
SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE: Arizona State (13-0) has moved up to No. 6 in the AVCA poll, its highest ranking in school history. The Sun Devils have opened conference play 2-0 for the first time since 1999 and lead the Pac-12 in blocks per set (3.09). ASU is hitting .244 as a team and holding its opponents to a .108 clip. Senior outside hitter Macey Gardner, who is 34 kills away from breaking the school’s record, is 10th in the conference at 3.48 kills per set. Senior middle blocker Whitney Follette is fourth in blocks (1.44) and eighth in hitting percentage (.374). Sophomore libero Halle Harker anchors the defense with 3.50 digs per set.
THE SERIES WITH THE SUN DEVILS: Stanford is 65-4 overall against Arizona State. The Cardinal is 27-0 against the Sun Devils under head coach John Dunning and has won 28 consecutive meetings between the two programs. ASU’s most recent win came on Oct. 30, 2000 in Tempe.
AJANAKU OUT: Senior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku, the 2014 Volleyball Magazine National Player of the Year, will miss the 2015 season after having surgery for an injury suffered playing with the U.S. National Team over the summer.
A BUGG’S LIFE: Senior Madi Bugg was tabbed the Pac-12 Setter of the Year for the second straight season in 2014. The Apex, N.C., native led the nation with 12.10 assists per set last season and enters this year ranked fifth on the Cardinal’s career assists list with 4,149.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB: Senior outside hitter Jordan Burgess racked up 19 double-doubles to lead the team in 2014. The human biology major became just the ninth Cardinal player to accumulate more than 1,000 career kills and digs. Burgess now has 1,105 kills and 1,174 digs.
THE HOWARD FILE: Senior outside hitter Brittany Howard, a three-year starter and all-conference selection, is looking to become just the 10th Cardinal player to reach the 1,000 career kill and dig marks. She currently has registered 979 kills and 972 digs.
TOP RECRUIT: Freshman opposite Hayley Hodson begins her career at Stanford after being tabbed the No. 1 overall recruit in the nation in 2015 by Volleyball Magazine. Hodson already has national team experience, most recently winning a gold medal at the 2015 Pan America Cup in Lima, Peru. She leads the Cardinal in kills (3.44) and points (4.17) per set this season.
DEFENDING PAC-12 CHAMPS: The Cardinal secured the Pac-12 title outright after sweeping Cal in the 2014 regular season finale for its 16th conference championship in the Pac-10/12 era, and the 19th overall for the program. Stanford has claimed seven of the past nine Pac-12 titles and eight overall under head coach John Dunning. Since 1986, the Cardinal has finished either first or second in the conference in 27 of 29 seasons.
NATIONAL POLL: Stanford remains at No. 8 in the AVCA poll this week after sweeping Cal before falling in five sets to USC last week. It marks the Cardinal’s lowest ranking since Oct. 7, 2013 when it was also No. 8. Penn State, USC, Texas, Nebraska and Washington make up the top 5. Seven Pac-12 squads are ranked in the top 25, including four in the top 10.
HEAD COACH JOHN DUNNING: Now in his 15th season at the helm of the Cardinal program, head coach John Dunning is one of the most accomplished coaches in the collegiate volleyball world. Dunning has four national championships under his belt, has taken teams to 10 Final Fours and carried six of his 14 Stanford teams to the national title match.
DUNNING BY THE NUMBERS: In 30 years as a head coach, John Dunning is 845-174 (.829), giving him a winning percentage that ranks among the top 5 all-time for Division I coaches. He is 408-72 in his 14 seasons on The Farm, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.850).
